Kiev is hoping to receive several dozen F-16 fighter jets from its NATO ‘partners’ following Washington’s approval of the training of Ukrainian pilots to fly the planes. Moscow has vowed to account for the deployment of F-16s into its military strategy, and warned that such an “escalation scenario” carries “enormous risks” for the West.
The F-16 – America’s workhorse fourth-generation multi-role fighter, would suffer a serious blow to its reputation if the planes are sent to Ukraine and destroyed at their airfields or downed in air-to-air combat by Russian jets.
That’s according to a fresh analysis of an independent military news portal, which cites Washington’s previously-expressed reluctance to allow allies like the Netherlands and Norway to supply older F-16s to Ukraine as a sign that the US officials recognize that “the United States would be bearing the primary risk” from their deployment.
“Not only is there a possibility that the fighter or its technologies could fall into Russian hands, as other Western equipment has in considerable quantities, but there is also a much greater chance that the fighters could suffer significant losses both to strikes on their airfields and in air-to-air combat which would be a major blow to the F-16’s reputation,” the portal noted.
Pointing to the F-16’s increasingly outdated status against peer competitors, the outlet stressed that in fighting against Russian air power, there would be a “very high possibility that the class [of fighters] would have only very limited survivability due to its lack of stealth capabilities and limited ability to engage top end heavyweight aircraft in the Russian fleet,” including the Su-35, the MiG-31 and the Su-57. Deployment to Ukraine would also mean vulnerability to Russian long-range surface-to-air missiles.....More Below
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps’ (IRGC) Intelligence Unit says Iran will consider the Israeli regime’s shelters “legitimate targets” if residential areas in the country come under attack.
In a post published on social media platform X on Tuesday, the IRGC said that any strikes on residential areas in Iran would give Iran’s armed forces the right to attack Israeli shelters in the occupied lands.
The IRGC stated that it has intelligence on the blueprints and the exact locations of these shelters.
Iran began its Operation True Promise 4 after the US and Israel launched their joint military aggression against the Islamic Republic in late February by assassinating Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei, and several senior Iranian officials.
In its latest wave of attacks, the IRGC said it rained down missiles on the Israeli regime’s “secure” intelligence facilities in Tel Aviv.
Iranian armed forces have also pounded American military bases and ...
In a fresh wave of retaliatory strikes, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) targeted the Israeli regime’s “secure” intelligence facilities in Tel Aviv.
The IRGC’s Public Relations Department said in a statement on Tuesday that it had carried out the 79th wave of its ongoing retaliatory Operation True Promise 4 against the Israeli and American targets.
Deploying powerful Kheybar Shekan, Emad, and Sejjil missiles alongside IRGC Aerospace Force kamikaze drones, the operation successfully breached the regime's multi-layered air defense systems, the statement said.
The missiles, it stated, targeted Israel’s intelligence facilities in northern and central Tel Aviv, as well as military commercial and support centers in Ramat Gan and the Negev.
The missiles also hit Israel’s southern military logistics and command headquarters in Beersheba.
The missile strikes triggered widespread panic across Israel and forced the suspension of a Knesset (parliament) session on Tuesday.
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The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) announces staging the 78th wave of its underway retaliatory Operation True Promise 4, targeting such highly sensitive Israeli targets as Dimona, Tel Aviv, and Eilat as well as several US military bases in the region.
In a statement on Tuesday, the IRGC described the latest phase of the operation as a significant development featuring missiles raining down on enemy targets as the nation was leveling momentous support behind the Islamic Republic by attending millions-strong rallies with "clenched fists."
'A distinct record'
The latest phase, it noted, "has set a distinct record in the timeline of the war."
According to the statement, targets in the occupied port of Eilat, Dimona, a heavily fortified city that hosts the Israeli regime's notorious nuclear reactor in its vicinity, and northern Tel Aviv were struck using Emad and multi-warhead Qadr missile systems along with attack drones.
This was the second time the Corps was hitting Dimona, ...
